What is the Information Age Investor?

If you read enough investment books, you will realize a great deal of time and money is spent trying to outperform the market. The goal of the information age investor is to utilize the premier resources on the internet and classic financial literature available at most local libraries to outperform the market. The information age investor will objectively use these resources to his or her advantage. Regardless of the research and knowledge available I think everyone will agree that the market is not perfect due to emotional overreaction. It is precisely these discrepancies that the information age investor can capitalize on. At times, securities are extremely overpriced and at times extremely underpriced. Otherwise, events such as the dot.com boom and bust would never occur. Being able to act independently and out of the eye of any organization or shareholder is the primary advantage of an independent investor. There is no need to obtain a specific percent gain for the year. Rather the information age investor can base his or her performance on a multiyear timeframe. The independent investor does not need to incur the massive costs associated with research and administration. Being able to invest in securities that are too small for the big financial institutions is a distinct advantage. In summary, the information age investor can leverage nearly the same information that big financial institutions have available but operate in a more flexible and cost effective manner; thus giving a distinct advantage to the information age investor.